KR20060055445A - Method and apparatus for measuring film thickness and film thickness growth - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increasing rate includes at least one piezoelectric element and first and second electrodes. A method for measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increasing rate includes applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode to cause the piezoelectric element to vibrate and measuring the vibration speed of the piezoelectric element. It includes. Heat may be applied to the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element may be formed of, for example, a quartz crystal of IT-cut.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING FILM THICKNESS AND FILM THICKNESS GROWTH}

REFERENCES OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application 60 / 464,237, filed April 21, 2003, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

This application claims the benefit of US Patent No. 10 / 460,971, filed June 13, 2003, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring film thickness and / or for monitoring film thickness growth rate and to a method for performing such measurement and / or monitoring. In one aspect, the present invention relates to one or more processing substrates, for example, by an optical thin film deposition system of evaporants deposited from an evaporator during the fabrication of optical devices (such as lenses, filters, reflectors, beam separators). A quartz crystal thickness monitor is provided that provides coating rate and thickness data in real time by monitoring the oscillation frequency conversion of coated test crystals.

Since the early 1960s, quartz crystals have been used to monitor the coating process of thin films used in the fabrication of optical devices such as lenses, filters, reflectors and beam separators. Initially, optical monitors were used to help provide information about the rate at which films are deposited, but quartz crystal sensors have relied on displaying and controlling optical layer thicknesses in automated deposition systems.

Research in areas such as nanotechnology, biosensors, thin film displays and high-speed optical communications has increased the complexity of thin film structures. While the antireflective coatings that constitute a monolayer of magnesium fluoride were sufficient 20 years ago, current designs may be required for a 24-layer stack of alternating refractive index films. With high speed optical communication, this stacking increases to 10 layers, leading to filters with up to 256 layers.

The manufacture of this shape requires the control and accuracy provided by the quartz crystals. Unfortunately, the materials and deposition temperatures used in today's processing adversely affect the operation of crystal sensors.

The quartz crystal thickness monitor may be the most misleading component of an optical thin film deposition system. Quartz sensors provide treatment engineers with real-time coating rate and thickness data in shock resolution.

The quartz sensor device measures the film thickness by monitoring the change in frequency vibration of the test crystals coated with the treatment substrate at the same time. Quartz is a piezoelectric material, that is, if quartz When the bar is curved, it applies a voltage on the opposite side. Conversely, if a voltage is applied, the bar is curved. By applying an alternating voltage to this bar, the bar vibrates or oscillates in phase with the voltage.

At certain oscillation frequencies, quartz vibrates with very little resistance, like a fork ring that rings when hit. This natural resonant frequency is used as the basis for measuring film thickness. By coating on the surface of the crystal, the resonant frequency decreases linearly. If the coating is removed, the resonant frequency increases.

In a quartz crystal thickness monitor, a quartz crystal is connected to an electrical circuit that causes the crystal to vibrate at an inherent (or resonant) frequency where the most commercial device is between 5 and 6 MHz. The microprocessor based control unit continuously monitors and displays or induces this frequency. As the material is coated onto the crystal during deposition, the resonant frequency decreases in a predictable manner proportional to the speed at which the material reaches the crystal and the density of the material. The change in frequency is calculated in times per second, converted to kiloseconds per second in the microprocessor, and expressed as the deposition rate. The accumulated coating is expressed in total thickness.

The sensitivity of these sensors is excellent. Uniform coatings of aluminum as low as 10 Hz result in a frequency conversion of 20 Hz, which is commonly measured today in electronics. As the density of the film increases, the frequency conversion per kHz increases.

The service life of quartz depends on its thickness and the type of monitoring coating. If a low stress metal, such as aluminum, is deposited, a layer as thick as 1,000,000 Å is measured. High and stress dielectric films, on the other hand, can cause crystal malfunctions at small thicknesses, such as 2,000 kPa or less.

In the early days of crystal thickness monitoring, metallic films of copper, silver and gold were the most commonly deposited materials. The film produced a low stress coating and condensed on a supported substrate near room temperature. Under these conditions, very accurate determination of film thickness and speed is achievable.

When the optical industry began to use crystal monitors, interest shifted from opaque metals to transparent materials such as magnesium fluoride and silicon dioxide because the coating had to transmit light. Unfortunately, such substrates are produced at high intrinsic stresses and require high processing or substrate temperatures. Since sensors using quartz are very sensitive to stress and temperature changes, this is not an excellent development for crystal monitoring.

This sensitivity can be traced to the piezoelectric properties of quartz. A more complex problem is the frequency conversion when the quartz crystal sensor used is deformed by, for example, thin film stresses or mechanical forces in the mounting holder. If the processing conditions heat or cool such a sensor, a similar frequency shift occurs. Regardless of origin, frequency conversion cannot be distinguished from what is caused by the additional coating.

The frequency conversion can be positive or negative and can be cumulative. It can also be random. The cause of the resonance frequency conversion,

Vibration caused by mounting hardware,

Oscillation at the voltage used to oscillate the crystal,

Changes in the monitored film (sound interference),

Adhesion failure of the monitored coating or quartz electrode, and

Include radio frequency interference in the monitoring circuit.

These effects cause large errors in the thickness and velocity calculations. The temperature oscillation of the quartz can result in a thickness change of more than 50 Hz (see Figure 1, which is a plot of frequency conversion versus temperature for AT-cut quartz crystals). Failure to bond results in a sharp rise in 100 kV speed. External vibrations can bring about changes in the range of the antenna. For the accuracy of the optical component, this error results in a large output loss.

Bad conditions present during optical film coating can have a detrimental effect on the operational life of the crystal. High stress coatings can deform the crystal at the point where it stops vibration without warning. Splatters of material from the coating source can lead to similar losses. High energy plasmas used for substrate cleaning can be connected to crystalline electronic components and cause severe electronic noise. High temperature deposition can overheat the crystal and drive beyond its operating limits.

Failure to make an initial decision can be a major inconvenience or a loss. In the case of 100+ layer thin film deposition, it is not optional to vent the chamber to replace the crystal due to the undesirable effects of the atmosphere on the film chemistry. For thick films used in laser powered or infrared lenses, the short lifetime of the crystals can interfere with the completion of the coating. In high speed roll coating systems, sudden crystal loss can result in large amounts of damaged substrates.

For example, attempts to reduce crystal loss and increase accuracy through the use of sensor heads and / or water cooled heads to maintain sensor temperatures between 20 degrees and 45 degrees and through the use of sensors formed of AT-cut quartz have been made. In this temperature range, AT-cut quartz is "virtually insensitive to temperature" to reduce thermally induced frequency conversion for low temperature treatment (see Figure 1).

That is, in the past, films were deposited at elevated temperatures in an attempt to relieve stresses in the accumulated film. However, since this elevated temperature causes the sensor to move in a "virtually insensitive zone to temperature" and results in a frequency shift in the thickness measurement of such sensor systems, conventional systems are attempted to counteract the effects of such heating, In fact, cooling systems have been used that attempt to maintain their temperature in the “insensitive to temperature” zone.

For example, conventional quartz crystal based thin film thickness sensor systems utilize water-cooled stainless steel holders that use thin (0.025 cm (0.010 inch)) quartz crystal disks to measure the thickness of the thin film deposition process, in situ and in real time. Available since the early 1960s, this technique is difficult to use when optical materials such as magnesium fluoride or silicon dioxide are used in the coating process. These materials cause crystals to behave strangely, fail prematurely, and prevent measurement and control functions from occurring during the coating process. The intrinsic stress of these materials when deposited into thin films results in finely stained quartz. In general, the coated lens is heated to relieve this stress while being coated.

Quartz sensors located near structures (e.g. lenses) that are being deposited to monitor the process may be subjected to temperature changes resulting from process heat (i.e., heat resulting from the process used to deposit the coating). It is traditionally cooled with water at the same time to minimize fluctuations. Unfortunately, this cooling combines stress problems on the crystal plane. In addition, recent studies of standard sensor heads show that even with water cooling, the crystal temperature rises from 20 ° C. to 30 ° C. in 10 minutes of treatment. During extended operation in the hot chamber, the temperature increase can be quite large.

Other attempts have been made to generate a temperature-frequency algorithm to counteract the frequency conversion of components caused by temperature. Examples of this work include: (1) "Simultaneous Measurement of Mass and Temperature using Quartz Crystal Microbalances" by EC van Ballegooijin. And the seventh phenomenon, C. Lu and A. Czanderna, editor, Applications of Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal Microbalances, Elsevier Press Publishing, New York, 1984 and (2) EP Eernisse, "Vaccum Applications of Quartz Resonators", J. Vac. Sci. .Technol), Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 1975, Jan.-February, pp. 564-568.

 A typical example change in quartz crystal monitoring process is underway. In many applications, decisions are key to success. No matter how significant advances may be made in optics, such as materials, geometry, process design or application examples, if any elaborate thin film coating is required, insufficient relevance is how accurately the film can be measured. Because technology is closed to manipulating the angstrom level properties of materials, the need for reliable thin film metrology rises to a new level of importance.

Film stress, adhesion failure, and extreme temperature effects have not been adequately addressed. The current demands of nanotechnology, thin film displays, and high-speed optical communications have resulted in an increased demand for quartz crystal monitors that reduce silver inaccuracy and reduce the frequency of these malfunctions.

According to the first aspect of the invention, instead of attempting to cool the piezoelectric element to hinder the effect of the processing heat applied to the piezoelectric element, heat is directly applied to the piezoelectric element to heat the piezoelectric element to a temperature above the processing condition, and As a result the stress is reduced and the temperature of the piezoelectric element is higher than the processing temperature although the temperature is outside the "virtually insensitive to temperature", the temperature of the piezoelectric element can be kept at a certain value and thus any resulting from the temperature change Eliminates the actual frequency conversion.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for measuring film thickness and / or increasing rate of film thickness, said apparatus comprising at least one piezoelectric element and a first contacting said piezoelectric element with said first zone. A device comprising a first electrode, a second electrode in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element, and a heater to heat the piezoelectric element, wherein the second zone is spaced apart from the first zone.

Preferably, the heater heats the piezoelectric element to a temperature of at least about 50 ° C, more preferably at least 100 ° C. The heater preferably maintains the piezoelectric element at a substantially constant temperature. Preferably the device further comprises a system to prevent the device from overheating and / or provide improved temperature control of the device.

According to a second aspect of the invention, instead of using a sensor made of AT-cut quartz, the sensor makes a different cut of quartz, i.e. IT-cut quartz.

It has been surprisingly found that IT-cut quartz crystals provide better performance than the industry standard AT-cut when used as a quartz crystal microbalance (ie thin film thickness sensor). The main advantage of the sensor according to this aspect of the invention is the lack of a substantial response to radiation which induces a frequency conversion caused by a high or high temperature deposition source present in a high and vacuum thin film deposition system. In conventional devices, when an AT-cut crystal is illuminated by a radiation source (such as a quartz lamp used to heat a substrate to be coated), a sudden rise in temperature results in a sharp rise in vibration frequency. This rise can be confused with the frequency conversion caused by the addition of the mass of the crystal from the deposition source. Thus, an error in the accuracy of the film thickness is suddenly caused.

A second advantage of the sensor formed from the IT-cut quartz crystal according to this aspect of the invention is its reduced stress-frequency response. When AT-cut crystals in conventional devices are deformed by accumulation of high stress coatings (e.g., dielectrics used in optical coating processing), indistinguishable frequencies from frequency conversions caused by accumulation of mass, as in the example of radiation. The transformation is introduced. IT-cut does not express this frequency conversion in degrees of the AT-cut. In addition, the service life of the IT-cut quartz crystal microbalance is considerably longer than the AT-cut, because the stress-induced frequency noise makes it easy to know the mass-frequency behavior.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus provided for measuring film thickness or the rate of increase in film thickness, said apparatus comprising at least one piezoelectric element with IT-cut quartz crystals and at least one of said piezoelectric elements; A first electrode in contact with a first zone and a second electrode in contact with at least a second zone of the piezoelectric element, wherein the second zone is a device spaced apart from the first zone.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method of measuring film thickness and / or increasing rate of film thickness, the method applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode such that the piezoelectric element vibrates And applying heat to the piezoelectric element, and measuring a vibration speed of the piezoelectric element, wherein the first electrode is in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, and the second electrode Is a method of contacting the second zone of the piezoelectric element.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method of measuring film thickness and / or increasing rate of film thickness, the method applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode such that the piezoelectric element vibrates And measuring the vibration speed of the piezoelectric element, wherein the first electrode is in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, and the second electrode is in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element is a method including an IT-cut quartz crystal.

The apparatus according to the invention can be used to automatically control the deposition source, to ensure repeatable, accurate thin film coating and to control the optical film properties depending on the deposition rate. The present invention provides improved accuracy.

The invention can be fully understood by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description of the invention.

1 is a temperature graph of frequency conversion and AT-cut quartz crystal.

2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention.

In an example of a system using a sensor according to the invention, the piezoelectric element determination sensor is embedded in a housing and has a line-of-sight-position with respect to the coating source (electron beam, thermal evaporation, sputtering, etc.). ) Is mounted. The substrate to be coated is positioned adjacent to the crystal and ensures that the amount of material (evaporator) deposited on the crystal and the substrate is substantially the same. If this is not the case, geometric corrections or "tooling factors" apply.

As mentioned above, the apparatus for measuring the film thickness and / or the rate of increase of the film thickness according to the present invention includes at least one piezoelectric element and first and second electrodes. According to the aspect of this invention, the heater which heats a piezoelectric element is further provided.

In general, the piezoelectric element may be formed of any piezoelectric material such as quartz, gallium phosphide or langatites or langsites. Preferred piezoelectric material is quartz crystal.

If the piezoelectric material is a quartz crystal, the crystal is preferably a single rotated cut (eg an AT-cut crystal) or a double rotated cut (eg an IT-cut crystal or an SC-cut crystal) Such crystal cuts are known to those skilled in the art.

The AT-cut is a member of a single rotated cut class and is formed by aligning the plane of the saw blade with the XZ crystal axis, followed by an angle of about 35 °, preferably 35 ° 15 '± 20' (an angle referred to as θ) Rotate the blade around the X axis until it reaches. The AT-cut has a temperature change in the temperature range (20-45 ° C. as described above) that the AT-cut quartz is "virtually insensitive to temperature" and shows little frequency conversion. The angle of the cut can be varied to allow stable operation even at rather high or low temperatures (eg, up to 20 minutes or more).

SC-cut and IT-cut decisions are cuts that are rotated in duplicate. Such a cut may be formed, for example, by rotating the blade about the X axis (by the θ angle), rotating the crystal by an angle φ about the Z axis, and aligning the plane of the saw blade with the XZ crystal axis. Can be. Alternatively, this cut is formed by aligning the saw blade with the X-Z crystal axis and then rotating the blade about the X axis and then the Z or Z axis, and then the X axis.

The SC-cut crystal has a θ value of about 35 °, preferably a value of 35 ° 15 '± 20'θ, a φ value of about 22 °, preferably a φ value of about 22 ° 0', ± 20 '. .

The SC-cut crystal exhibits a frequency-temperature behavior similar to that of the AT-cut, and has the added feature that shows that there is virtually no frequency conversion, especially when the crystal is stressed. In initial coating attempts, the monitor crystals made from the SC-cut material do not exhibit any frequency conversion induced by the high stress dielectric on the AT-cut crystals. Historically, SC-cut crystals are more expensive versions of quartz, but the benefits for optical processing engineers outweigh the cost disadvantages.

The IT-cut crystal has a θ value of about 34 ° to 35 °, preferably 34 ° 24 '± 20', and has a φ value of about 19 °, preferably 19 ° 6 '± 20'.

When an IT-cut crystal is used as a quartz crystal thickness monitor as described herein, the IT-cut crystal is surprisingly responsive to radiation which induces frequency conversion caused by a high temperature deposition source present in a heat source or a high vacuum thin film deposition system. Indicate lack. In addition, it has been found that IT-cut quartz crystals display very low stress induced by frequency conversion. Moreover, it has surprisingly been found that by heating the IT-cut quartz crystal according to the invention, the coating works better and the sensor performs very accurately. Moreover, for low stress performance, no specific circuit is needed (in the case of SC-cut quartz, it is generally found that a specific circuit is required).

In general, the piezoelectric element may be of any suitable shape. Preferably, the piezoelectric element has a substantially planar convex lens or a substantially flat and parallel opposite surface. Preferred shapes are generally cylindrical with an axial dimension that is smaller than the radial dimension. Preferably, the edge of the piezoelectric element is inclined as is known in the art.

The piezoelectric element is preferably mounted to the body. Such a body can be of any desired shape, and preferably, the body supports the piezoelectric element along its periphery, leaving the large interior of the piezoelectric element free to vibrate.

The first and second electrodes may be of any structure capable of conducting electricity. As described above, the first electrode is at least in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, the second electrode is at least in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element, and the second zone is spaced from the first zone, and thus from the power supply The current of may pass through the first electrode, the piezoelectric element from the first zone to the second zone, and the second electrode.

Preferably, the first and second zones of the piezoelectric element are coated with electrode material. Preferably, the first and second zones of the piezoelectric element are coated with aluminum and aluminum alloy electrode material. For silicon dioxide coatings, such electrode zones extend the sensor's service life by more than 100% when compared to industry standard gold crystal electrode coatings. In addition, the frequency shift due to electrode adhesion failure is reduced by 90% under standard experimental conditions. Although not all coatings are the same, the advantage this electrode brings is the material and deposition specifications. Alternatively, another suitable material, for example gold or silver, can be used to form the electrode coating in the first and second zones.

Generally, when using a heater, any heater or heater is used that is efficient at heating the piezoelectric element to a desired temperature, and which maintains the piezoelectric element at such a desired temperature. For example, any conduction heater, radiating heater and convection heater can be used. Suitable examples of heaters include Kapton contact heaters, quartz lamp infrared heating sources, and the like (as known to those skilled in the art, ie, including blocks with resistive wires located within the block). Such a heater or heater may be located inside the body or clamped to the body (with heat conducted to the piezoelectric element by the body) or may be separated from the body but directed towards the piezoelectric element, or in any other suitable arrangement. Can be.

Preferably, the deposition is performed in vacuo. In that case, the heater is conducted or radiated.

As mentioned above, the device of the present invention is a cooling system capable of preventing the device from overheating and / or a cooling system that provides improved temperature control of the device, preferably between a water-cooled system, for example between the environment surrounding the conduit and the cooling water. It further preferably comprises a system circulated through a conduit for removing heat by heat exchange.

The temperature of the body is monitored using, for example, a thermocouple or thermistor to maintain the body (and piezoelectric element) at a substantially constant temperature.

The vibration frequency of the piezoelectric element is sensed by using any suitable device. For example, the skilled person is familiar with microprocessors that can be easily installed to read the vibration frequency of the piezoelectric element.

Similarly, any suitable apparatus is used to convert the frequency of the vibration data into deposition rate (eg, in seconds per second) and / or accumulated coating value (ie, in total thickness in kilowatts). For example, the skilled person is familiar with the installation of microprocessors to perform such conversions. The variety of algorithms for performing such calculations is known in the art (eg, Chih-shun Lu, "Mass determination with piezoelectric quartz crystal resonators"). To those skilled in the art of J.Vac.Sci.Technol. , Vol . 12, No. 1, (January / February. 1975), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It is. The correction is made with a thickness calculation algorithm to calculate the acoustic interference, as is known in the art.

Moreover, known electronics and shielding are preferably used to eliminate radio frequency interference and voltage variations.

2 schematically shows an example of an embodiment according to the present invention. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, generally the cylinder-type quartz crystal 10 is mounted to the main body 11, the center of which is formed of blocks of stainless steel milled. The heated block 12 is in contact with the body 11 to heat the body 11 and the quartz crystal 10. The body 11 in contact with the bottom surface of the quartz crystal 10 acts as the first electrode and the spring contact electrode 13 located between the collet 4 and the top surface of the quartz crystal acts as the second electrode. A voltage (not shown) is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode by a power supply. The spring contact electrode 13 minimizes externally generated vibrations.

As described above, the method for measuring the film thickness and / or film thickness increase rate according to the present invention comprises applying a voltage along the piezoelectric element from the first electrode to the second electrode to cause the piezoelectric element to vibrate; It includes the step of measuring the vibration speed. In one aspect of the invention, heat may be applied to the piezoelectric element.

According to an aspect of the invention in which heat is applied to the piezoelectric element, preferably, the piezoelectric element has a temperature of at least about 50 ° C., preferably at least about 100 ° C., for example a temperature in the range from about 100 ° C. to about 120 ° C. For example, to a temperature of about 100 ° C.

The present invention applies to electronic thin film coatings of "high stress" used in process monitoring and control of optics and in the production of optics and electronic devices. The invention is applied in particular to the production of thin films through a high vacuum deposition process.

Heated crystal sensor systems using standard "AT-cut quartz crystals allow for more precise and long lasting process control in high vacuum thin film deposition systems.

By heating the crystal to a temperature including 100 ° C. (although the benefit is observed even at temperatures of 50 ° C. or higher), it is observed that the strange performance of the crystal is minimized or even eliminated. An additional advantage of this improvement is that the water lines conventionally used to cool the crystals in the vacuum chamber can be removed. This simplifies the installation in a vacuum system and eliminates the possibility of leaks, a routine problem.

  In addition, IT-cut crystals do not respond to latent heat of heat or stress accumulation in thin dielectric films. This is important in many optical coating processes because (1) bright light often involves heating of the material used to coat, and (2) the dielectric film forms a volume of material used for optical coating. Quartz has finite "frequency-temperature" and "stress-frequency" action. As it heats up or deforms, its vibration frequency changes. This counteracts the mechanism used in thin film thickness sensors to describe film thickness by linearly decreasing at oscillation frequency as the coating builds up on the crystal surface. The IT-cut decision eliminates the frequency shift caused by radiant energy or stress. As a result, heated IT-cut crystals are ideal for accurate measurement of thin optical films.

Yes

An example of an "IT-cut" quartz crystal is used to monitor the coating of optical material (magnesium fluoride) in a vibration-treatment chamber. This crystal type is chosen for the experiment to determine whether the thermal properties of the quartz can be changed to provide a more stable means of monitoring the deposition of the optical material. The standard crystal type in current use is referred to as "AT-cut" quartz and is very dependent on temperature and coating stress. In the practice of this experiment, an infrared-heat source, a quartz lamp, is used to radially heat the crystals to simulate the conditions present in typical industrial applications. This determination, in contrast to the AT-cut, does not describe a noticeable frequency shift when the lamp is turned on. This is a surprising feature because it significantly improves the accuracy of the sensor.

The experiment is also repeated, adding a separate Kapton contact heater used to raise the operating temperature of the crystal. The heated crystals operate with longer and greater stability when used to monitor magnesium fluoride optical film coating treatments, while having the same lack of noticeable response to radiant thermal effects as before. This experiment is repeated with the "AT-cut" crystal and also heated. Similar effects are observed. This is a significant improvement over the performance of the industry standard “AT-cut”, which is usually cooled with water (eg, about 20 ° C.).

Any two or more structural parts of the above-described device may be merged. Any structural portion of the device described above may be provided in two or more portions (if necessary maintained together).

Claims (36)

A device for measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increasing rate, At least one piezoelectric element, A first electrode in contact with at least a first region of the piezoelectric element; A second electrode in contact with at least a second region of the piezoelectric element; A heater for heating the piezoelectric element, The second zone is spaced apart from the first zone. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heater heats the piezoelectric element to a temperature of at least about 50 ° C. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element comprises quartz crystals. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the piezoelectric element is selected from AT-cut, IT-cut and SC-cut quartz crystals. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the piezoelectric element is an IT-cut quartz crystal. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a cooling system. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heater contacts the body and the piezoelectric element contacts the body. A device for measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increasing rate, At least one piezoelectric element with an IT-cut quartz crystal, A first electrode in contact with at least a first region of the piezoelectric element; A second electrode in contact with at least a second region of the piezoelectric element, The second zone is spaced apart from the first zone. 10. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a power supply for applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode across the piezoelectric element. 10. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a heater to heat the piezoelectric element. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the heater heats the piezoelectric element to a temperature of at least about 50 ° C. 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the heater contacts the body and the piezoelectric element contacts the body. Method for measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increasing rate, Vibrating the piezoelectric element by applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode; Applying heat to the piezoelectric element; Measuring the vibration speed of the piezoelectric element; The first electrode is in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, And the second electrode is in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element. The method of claim 13, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a substantially constant temperature. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a temperature of at least about 50 ° C. The method of claim 13, wherein the piezoelectric element comprises quartz crystals. The method of claim 16, wherein the piezoelectric element is selected from AT-cut, IT-cut, and SC-cut quartz crystals. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the piezoelectric element is an IT-cut quartz crystal. The method of claim 13, wherein the method of applying heat to the piezoelectric element is performed by contact heating of the body, so that the piezoelectric element is heated through direct or indirect contact with the body. Method for measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increasing rate, Vibrating the piezoelectric element by applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode; Measuring the vibration speed of the piezoelectric element; The first electrode is in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, The second electrode is in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element, And the piezoelectric element comprises an IT-cut quartz crystal. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising applying heat to the piezoelectric element. The method of claim 21, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a substantially constant temperature. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a temperature of at least about 50 ° C. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein applying heat to the piezoelectric element is performed by contact heating to the body, wherein the piezoelectric element is heated through direct or indirect contact with the body. A method for depositing a film and measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increase rate, Depositing material over at least one substrate and one piezoelectric element; Applying heat to the piezoelectric element; Vibrating the piezoelectric element by applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode; Measuring the vibration speed of the piezoelectric element; The first electrode is in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, And the second electrode is in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element. The method of claim 25, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a substantially constant temperature. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a temperature of at least about 50 ° C. 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the piezoelectric element comprises quartz crystals. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the piezoelectric element is selected from AT-cut, IT-cut, and SC-cut quartz crystals. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the piezoelectric element is an IT-cut quartz crystal. 27. The method of claim 25, wherein applying heat to the piezoelectric element is performed by contact heating the body, wherein the piezoelectric element is heated through direct or indirect contact with the body. A method for depositing a film and measuring film thickness and / or film thickness increase rate, Depositing a material on at least one piezoelectric element having at least one substrate and IT-cut quartz crystals; Vibrating the piezoelectric element by applying a voltage along a piezoelectric element from a first electrode to a second electrode; Measuring the vibration speed of the piezoelectric element; The first electrode is in contact with the first zone of the piezoelectric element, And the second electrode is in contact with the second zone of the piezoelectric element. 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising applying heat to the piezoelectric element. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a substantially constant temperature. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the piezoelectric element is maintained at a temperature of at least about 50 ° C. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein applying heat to the piezoelectric element is performed by contact heating to the body, wherein the piezoelectric element is heated through direct or indirect contact with the body.

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